V. Reinhart wrote on Tue, Feb 7, 2017 11:39 PM UTC:
In the section "One Set, Four Boards" the author wrote "Seems like a silly idea, but the small number of pieces means that the game won't take so many moves, and the position of the Kings means that they will never be safe -- and so there will be many short games with exciting attacks.".
The king will never be safe? The king is next to some strong pieces that can defend him. He's next to a queen, and other pieces can easily move into positions to defend from all directions.
If the opponent tries to attack from the flanks or the rear, it seems to me that the king can be defended faster than the opponent can send new attackers. With good play I don't see how games will be shorter than normal chess. And at the endgame, putting the king in checkmate would take longer because pushing him to a corner will take more moves.
So I don't think games will be shorter with exciting attacks. Well-played games will be slower with fewer and less-interesting attacks. Please let me know if I'm missing something. And has anyone played this?
In the section "One Set, Four Boards" the author wrote "Seems like a silly idea, but the small number of pieces means that the game won't take so many moves, and the position of the Kings means that they will never be safe -- and so there will be many short games with exciting attacks.".